Evaporation of liquids on chemically patterned surfaces

We studied evaporation rates of volatile liquids deposited onto chemically patterned surfaces by means of experiments and numerical simulations. We quantified the influence of the droplet geometry, in particular circular, triangular, rectangular and square shapes, as well as the influence of contact angles. We considered the two cases of vaporization both in stagnant atmospheres as well as in the presence of well-defined laminar airflows. While lateral air-convection enhances evaporation, it causes a dependence of the evaporation rate on the pattern orientation with respect to the airflow. Neighboring droplets and rivulets tend to mutually reduce their evaporation rate relative to isolated patterns.     

Flow Instabilities in Linear and Branched Syndiotactic Poly(propylene)s

Extrusion flow experiments of linear and branched syndiotactic poly(propylene)s were carried out. The work was focused on flow instabilities. Ionized radiation was employed to induce long chain branching in linear samples. Sharkskin and melt fracture were postponed in the case of slightly long branched samples, which possess an enhanced melt elasticity compared to linear samples. For the most elastic samples the nature of the flow instability changed: sharkskin disappeared and melt fracture was observed instead. The correlation between sharkskin and melt strength results is discussed.

     

Protective Effect of Memantine on Bergmann Glia and Purkinje Cells Morphology in Optogenetic Model of Neurodegeneration in Mice

Spinocerebellar ataxias are a family of fatal inherited diseases affecting the brain. Although specific mutated proteins are different, they may have a common pathogenetic mechanism, such as insufficient glutamate clearance. This function fails in reactive glia, leading to excitotoxicity and overactivation of NMDA receptors. Therefore, NMDA receptor blockers could be considered for the management of excitotoxicity. One such drug, memantine, currently used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, could potentially be used for the treatment of other forms of neurodegeneration, for example, spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA). We previously demonstrated close parallels between optogenetically induced cerebellar degeneration and SCA1. Here we induced reactive transformation of cerebellar Bergmann glia (BG) using this novel optogenetic approach and tested whether memantine could counteract changes in BG and Purkinje cell (PC) morphology and expression of the main glial glutamate transporter—excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAT1). Reactive BG induced by chronic optogenetic stimulation presented increased GFAP immunoreactivity, increased thickness and decreased length of its processes. Oral memantine (~90 mg/kg/day for 4 days) prevented thickening of the processes (1.57 to 1.81 vs. 1.62 μm) and strongly antagonized light-induced reduction in their average length (186.0 to 150.8 vs. 171.9 μm). Memantine also prevented the loss of the key glial glutamate transporter EAAT1 on BG. Finally, memantine reduced the loss of PC (4.2 ± 0.2 to 3.2 ± 0.2 vs. 4.1 ± 0.3 cells per 100 μm of the PC layer). These results identify memantine as potential neuroprotective therapeutics for cerebellar ataxias.     

Distillation technology – still young and full of breakthrough opportunities

Throughout history, distillation has been the most widespread separation method. However, despite its simplicity and flexibility, distillation still remains very energy inefficient. Novel distillation concepts based on process intensification, can deliver major benefits, not just in terms of significantly lower energy use, but also in reducing capital investment and improving eco‐efficiency. While very likely to remain the separation technology of choice for the next decades, there is no doubt that distillation technology needs to make radical changes in order to meet the demands of the energy‐conscious modern society. This article aims to show that in spite of its long age, distillation technology is still young and full of breakthrough opportunities. Moreover, it provides a broad overview of the recent developments in distillation based on process intensification principles, for example heat pump assisted distillation (e.g. vapor compression or compression–resorption), heat‐integrated distillation column, membrane distillation, HiGee distillation, cyclic distillation, thermally coupled distillation systems (Petlyuk), dividing‐wall column, and reactive distillation. These developments as well as the future perspectives of distillation are discussed in the context of changes towards a more energy efficient and sustainable chemical process industry. Several key examples are also included to illustrate the astonishing potential of these new distillation concepts to significantly reduce the capital and operating cost at industrial scale. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Metallopolymers based on a polyazomethine ligand containing rigid oxadiazole and flexible tetramethyldisiloxane units

Soluble, easily processable polymer–metal complexes with improved optical and dielectric properties for optoelectronic functional materials were obtained. For this, a new polyazomethine (PAZ2) was prepared by the reaction of a siloxane dialdehyde and bis(formyl‐p‐phenoxymethyl) tetramethyldisiloxane with 2,5‐bis(p‐aminophenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole, and it was used as a ligand for Cu(II), Co(II), and Zn(II) ions on the basis of the presence of the electron‐donor nitrogen atoms from the azomethine group and oxadiazole ring. The structure of the PAZ2 was determined by spectral [Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy] techniques. The metal complexation was proven by FTIR spectroscopy, and the silicon‐to‐metal ratios in the complexes were established by energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence. The new materials were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The optical properties of PAZ2 and the derived metal complexes were studied by ultraviolet–visible and fluorescence spectroscopies. PAZ2 shows fluorescence emission, and it was significantly enhanced by metal complexation. The emission was enhanced by protonation; this behavior is useful, especially for sensors. The electrical properties were investigated by dielectric spectroscopy at various frequencies and temperatures, and this emphasized the existence of dipolar relaxations. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41631.     

Dynamic mechanical behaviour of random copolymers of a LC-methacrylate and octyl methacrylate

The dynamic mechanical behaviour of random copolymers of LC monomer-1-(hexyloxycarbonyl)ethyl 4-[4-(methacryloyloxy)benzoyloxy]benzoate (HB) and octyl methacrylate (OMA) was studied in the main transition and flow regions. Even though the aliphatic end groups of the side chain of HB and OMA are roughly the same, the T _g temperature of poly(HB) is ∼ 80 K higher than that of poly(OMA); this fact is due to the presence of the stiff phenyl benzoate mesogenic group in the side chain of HB. With increasing content of OMA in the copolymer the superimposed curves of the storage G′ _p and loss G′′ _p moduli at a constant temperature shift towards shorter frequencies. It has been shown that this shift is mainly due to an increase of the free volume in the copolymers with increasing content of OMA. While HB monomer shows liquid crystalline (LC) properties, its polymer (poly(HB)) and random copolymers with OMA show only isotropic thermal behaviour because no flexible spacer is present in the side chain of HB which would decouple the main chain and mesogenic group motions. This means that neither the homopolymer of HB, nor its copolymers with a flexible comonomer retain the LC properties of the starting LC monomer, HB. Received: 26 September 1996/Revised: 7 November 1996/Accepted: 7 November 1996     

Chemical stability of some poly(amide imide) type polymers

The stability of some heterocyclic poly(amide imide)s in acidic and alkaline medium was compared to the structurally related polyimide and poly(amide imide)s without other heterocyclic groups. All the polymers have high stability in acidic medium. The introduction of additional heterocycles such as 1,3,4-0xadiazole or phenylquinoxaline into the macromolecular chain of a poly(amide imide) increases substantially the resistance to alkaline medium. Polyamides containing imide rings only in the side chain are more stable to hydrolysis than related polyamide having imide units in the main chain.     

Processing parameters of the diethylenetriamine and unsaturated aldehyde resin

The dependence of processing parameters of the reaction between diethylenetriamine (DETA) and crotonaldehyde (CR) or cinnamaldehyde (CA) on reaction time were followed by calorimetric and viscosity measurements. Resins with molecular weights up to 800 g/mol and content of unreacted monomers under 1% were formed. The most reactive were the amino and aldehyde groups. The aldehyde groups are five times more reactive than double bonds. ? NHCHOH, ? CH₂NH? , ? CHNH? , and ? N?CH? groups were formed. The rates of the reactions and the rate constants decrease with increasing molar ratio between DETA and unsaturated aldehydes. The heat of the addition of DETA to CR was up to 54 KJ/mol and the total heat of reaction was up to 71 KJ/mol. The heat of addition of DETA to CA was up to 32 KJ/mol and the total heat of reaction was up to 61 KJ/mol. For DETA and CR the activation energy of condensation were 57.3 KJ/mol, and 42.0 KJ/mol for DETA and CA. The viscosity of the final products increased up to hard resins.     

A review of biodiesel production by integrated reactive separation technologies

Biodiesel is a biodegradable and renewable fuel, emerging as a viable alternative to petroleum diesel. Conventional biodiesel processes still suffer from problems associated with the use of homogeneous catalysts and the limitations imposed by the chemical reaction equilibrium, thus leading to severe economic and environmental penalties. This work provides a detailed review—illustrated with relevant examples—of novel reactive separation technologies used in biodiesel production: reactive distillation/absorption/extraction, and membrane reactors. Reactive separation offers new and exciting opportunities for manufacturing the fatty acid alkyl esters involved in the industrial production of biodiesel and specialty chemicals. The integration of reaction and separation into one operating unit overcomes equilibrium limitations and provides major benefits such as low capital investment and operating costs. These reactive separation processes can be further enhanced by heat‐integration and powered by heterogeneous catalysts, to eliminate all conventional catalyst related operations, using efficiently the raw materials and the reaction volume, while offering higher conversion and selectivity, as well as significant energy savings compared with conventional biodiesel processes. Remarkable, in spite of the high degree of integration, such integrated reactive‐separation processes are still very well controllable as illustrated by the included examples. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Dynamic optimization of a dividing-wall column using model predictive control

Dividing-wall column (DWC) is one of the best examples of process intensification, as it can bring significant reduction in the capital invested as well as savings in the operating costs. Conventional ternary separations progressed from the (in-)direct sequences to thermally coupled columns such as Petlyuk configuration, and later to the DWC compact design that integrates the two distillation columns into a single shell. Nevertheless, this integration leads also to changes in the control and operating mode due to the higher number of degrees of freedom.In this work we explore the dynamic optimization and advanced control strategies based on model predictive control (MPC), coupled or not with PID. These structures were enhanced by adding an extra loop controlling the heavy component in the top of the feed side of the column, using the liquid split as manipulated variable, thus implicitly achieving energy minimization. To allow a fair comparison with previously published references, this work considers as a case-study the industrially relevant separation of the mixture benzene–toluene–xylene (BTX) in a DWC.The results show that MPC leads to a significant increase in performance, as compared to previously reported conventional PID controllers within a multi-loop framework. Moreover, the optimization employed by the MPC efficiently accommodates the goal of minimum energy requirements – possible due to the addition of an extra loop – in a transient state. The practical benefits of coupling MPC with PID controllers are also clearly demonstrated.